Passive Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay

Passive Women in Chaucers Canterbury Tales? One argument that reigns supreme when considering Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is whether or not there is an element of anti-feminism within the text. One thread that goes along with this is whether or not the women of The Canterbury Tales are passive within the tales told. This essay will explore the idea that the women found within the tales told by the pilgrims (The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale to name a few) are not passive at all, but rather influence the turn of events within the stories. It is seen even in the first tale told – The Knight’s Tale – that the women portrayed within it are not passive at all, but, as previously stated, manage†¦show more content†¦Later on, even, when it is evident that Emelye is going to be wed to one or the other, she prays to her goddess and states that she does not wish to be a wife, but if she must be married, that she be married to the one who loves her the most. It is not necessarily passivity that she shows by her latter statement, as if she were a truly passive character she would have accepted either one to be wed to, not specify that whoever she weds is the one who loves her most. The women may not have been the truly main focus of The Knight’s Tale, but even so, it is easily read that they are not passive. In Jill Mann’s book, Feminizing Chaucer, she states, â€Å"male heroes are, as I have already noted, few and far between in Chaucer. In the Canterbury Tales, the moral high ground is occupied by Constance, Griselda, Cecilia, Prudence, and no man is accorded the central and dominating position in the narrative that they enjoy.† So, if women hold the moral high ground in the Tales, then how can they be passive? For one to be considered a â€Å"hero† or â€Å"heroine† in most literature, they must physically or mentally do something or abstain from something else. Therefore deductive reasoning would suggest that most of the women within Chaucer’s Tales are not passive at all, and further examples of this can be seen in The Miller’s Tale. Within The Miller’s Tale, Alisoun could almost be considered passive with her agreement to be with Nicholas, but again, she manages to beShow MoreRelatedWomen In Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales1288 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Geoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† is a collection of stories written between 1387 and 1400 about a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England) and on their way, they tell stories to each other about their lives and experiences. The stories constitute a critique of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church, while women seem to be presented in a different way than they are in other contemporary works. 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Training Needs Assessment Paper Free Essays

Training Needs Assessment for Chicago Transit Authority By Tammi Adams Table of Contents Executive Summary___________________________________________________ 3 Background of CTA___________________________________________________ 4 Needs Assessment Design, Implementation and Analysis_____________________5 Recommended Training Strategy and Design______________________________6 Cost/Benefit Analysis__________________________________________________ 8 Training Evaluation Plan_______________________________________________9 References___________________________________________________________10 Executive Summary We here at CTA are committed to providing quality and safe service to our customers which is why we are committed in making sure that all qualified individuals are trained to the highest standard. This training needs assessment is focused on the bus operators of the CTA since they are the public face of the agency. Before any training can begin individuals have to go through series of test to see if a individual is qualified. We will write a custom essay sample on Training Needs Assessment Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now Once a person is qualified and hired they will start a 4 week training class with qualified CTA instructors. This 4 week training class will consist of classroom work and on- the- road techniques. Once the training has ended the trainee will take a 100 question exam to see how much they have learned though out the training course. In order to the successfully pass the training course the trainee will have to pass at least 80% of the exam. If a trainee has failed to pass the exam they will be given a second chance, but if they fail again, potential employment at CTA will be terminated. After a trainee has successfully passed the training course they will be known as a professional bus operator and will start working on their own. Once the bus operator starts working an instructor will come out at random to observe them to see if all rules and procedures are being followed. CTA has decided that every 2 years all bus operators will have to take a recertification class to refresh their skills and learn new ones. Background of CTA The CTA is the nation’s second largest public transportation system which covers the City of Chicago and 40 of its surrounding suburbs. The CTA is provided by their modes which are the bus and rail service while the bus service is the public face of the agency. On a average CTA provides over 1. 4 million rides which accounts for 80% of all taken in the six county Chicago metropolitan region. CTA operates 24 hours each day on an average weekday. It has approximately 1,800 buses which operates 140 routes. Buses provide about one million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. The Chicago Transit Authority’s 1,190 train cars operates eight routes, i ts trains provide about 650,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago. CTA’s mission is to deliver quality, affordable transit services that link, commuters, jobs, and communities. CTA has many values but the most important one is providing transit service with the highest standards of quality and safety for our customers. Another value is that they focus on getting the job done and will derive personal satisfaction from the service they provide. With this being said while providing quality service it is important that CTA has dedicated and skillfully trained employees. It is important for the employees to be aware of all procedures so they can provide service with high standards. The specific position at CTA I will be discussing is the position of Bus Operators. At CTA, bus operators are the face of the agency which is why it is important for them to ensure CTA’s goal of providing quality and safe service to its customers. Bus operators are the ones who operate bus transportation over a route adhering to a schedule in a safe efficient and polite manner to allow passengers to board travel and alight at scheduled stops. Needs Assessment Design, Implementation and Analysis At CTA safety is its number 1 priority, with this being said training definitely supports the company strategic direction. It is important that everyone who operates a bus knows how to operate it safely, know the rules of the road, what to do in case of an accident and knows all of CTA procedures. With the proper training CTA can reduce the number of accidents it has had throughout the years and offer its customers the best transit service. CTA has decided that all training will be done in-house and that all training be conducted by CTA certified Instructors. All instructors are former CTA bus operators who have been bus operators for over 10 years and have a clean driving record. The duties of a bus operator are navigating the bus through an assigned route, manages the collection of bus fares, provides customer service to its passengers, report conditions that could jeopardize the safety of the passenger or other members of the public and maintains contact with dispatch and reports current position and conditions affecting the operation of the route as required and assists in loading, securing, and unloading wheelchairs and passengers. Before anyone can start training with CTA there are a few qualifications they must have. They first must pass a personality test. The reason being is to determine what kind of person you are and how you would handle certain situations that may arise while you are operating your bus. Before training can begin all trainees must possess a high school diploma and have basic skills such as writing, communication and reading. Bus operators must be able to communicate with its passengers in a professional manner and along with being able to read road signs. Before trainees start training sessions they will have to possess a clean driving record and a valid class B Commercial Driver’s License with an unrestricted passenger endorsement. Recommended Training Strategy and Design The training will include classroom work, and on-the road training techniques to ensure that all employees will be prepared for being able to work on their own. The classroom session will consist of learning the operation of a public bus which will include familiarization with all safety features and its system. It will also include learning traffic rules, regulations and laws, learn the fare structure, and learn how to read schedules. Included will also be topics such as how to provide first aid assistance in the event of an accident; promoting transit rider-ship within the Municipality and how to maintain a working relationship that is professional with your coworkers, superiors and passengers. The on-the-road training techniques will consist of how to operate a bus in a safe, efficient and timely manner to comply with all regulatory requirements and all standards. Some of the techniques that will be learned is how to make a right and left turn, how to curb the bus and learning how to change lanes. Training will also include how to operate and utilize standard safety equipment that is installed in transit passenger vehicles, including; safety harnesses, restraints and other equipment that is required by state and federal regulations. Once this has been established the trainee will team up with a bus line instructor to learn various routes and they will also see how it is to drive in service with passengers. During this time the bus line instructor will observe the trainee’s driving, collecting pay fares and also how they are dealing with passengers that aboard the bus. All training at CTA consists of 4 weeks, Mon thru Fri 8 hours a day: 2 weeks of classroom work, 1 week of on-the-road training and 1 week of driving with a bus operator to learn all of the routes. Once the trainee has completed these 4 weeks of training they will be required to take a 100 question test on everything that has been learned throughout the training course. In order to pass the training the trainee will be required to pass 80% of the test. If a trainee does not pass at least 80% of the test they will have one- on-one training with an instructor for 1 week on topics that they are struggling with. After extensive training another test will be given and the trainee must pass this test or else they will not be hired for employment with CTA. Direct Cost| Cost/Benefit Analysis| In-house instructors (20 days@ $480)| $9,600 | Materials ($40 *20 trainees)| $800 | | | | | Compensation for Trainees| | Trainees salaries| $32,000 | | | Total training cost| $42,400 | | | Cost per trainee| $2,120 | Training Evaluation Plan After the trainee has passed all tests and has started working on their own, an instructor will ride with the operator and observed them to see if all rules are being followed properly. Not only will instructors ride with new operators, they will further ride with all operators at random to see if they are following all rules and procedures of the company. CTA will also hire spotters who will go out and observe operators to see if procedures are being handled properly and if procedures are not followed the spotter will report the operator to CTA officials. Another thing that CTA does to ensure that training is followed effectively is that once a new bus operator has started they will be evaluated every month for a year to see if there have been any violations or accidents. In addition CTA will also provide on-going education services (recertification class) so that employees may continue to refresh existing qualifications and obtain new skills. This type of training will be given to all employees every two years. A retraining class will also be given to an operator if they have been involved in an accident by which it was their fault. This type of training will consist of what might have been done to avoid the accident along with going over necessary techniques. This training can range from 1 to 5 days depending on how serious the accident was. A test will also be given following retraining to insure the operator has a thorough understanding of what they have learned and how they can avoid being involved in another accident. CTA must stay committed in making sure that all operators are following proper procedures throughout training evaluation to ensure they are committed to their goal which is provide necessary transit service with the highest standards of quality and safety for its customers. References Chicago Transit Authority. (2011, June 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved , from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Chicago_Transit_Authority;oldid=434808174 Chicago Transit Authority. (2011,June 15). CTA Overview. Retrieved from http://www. transitchicago. com/about/overview. aspx Mass Transit. (2011,June 9) Managers Forum. Retrieved from http://www. masstransitmag. com/article/10220533/managers-forum How to cite Training Needs Assessment Paper, Essay examples

Inspector Goole Essay Summary Example For Students

Inspector Goole Essay Summary In this essay I will discuss the role of the Inspector in the play in depth. This will allow me; to prove the hypothesis either right or wrong. The play opens with the Birling Family and Gerald gathered together to celebrate the engagement of Sheila and Gerald. However there is doubt of the engagement being more of a business proposal. This is shown by a suggestion Birling made in his speech; of how the Crofts and Birlings should no longer compete but work together. In the dining room theres laughter, teasing comments and moving speeches. Suddenly the joyful atmosphere is torn apart by the dramatic intrusion of a harsh figure investigating the suicide of Eva Smith. Under interrogation the shameful secrets are revealed linking each family member and Gerald towards the dramatic death of this young woman. J. B. Priestly wrote An Inspector Calls during one week in 1945. He was a Yorkshire man who lived from 1894 to 1984. The play seems to be about the key conflicts taking place in the English society in 1945. He expresses many of the playwrights views about the class system, politics and responsibility et cetera. J. B. Priestly seems to express all this views through the inspector. I believe the characteristics Priestly used for the Inspector, which include aggressive, a moral tone and a use of emotive languages kept the play mysterious all the way through. For example; The Inspectors Calling is quit ominous. Because Calls is a misleading word to use about the Inspector. The way he operates may appear casual and spontaneous, but in fact its single-minded and manipulative. Another point to make is the Inspector appearance is misleading. As the staging directions tell us that he creates an impression of massiveness, firmness and purposefulness. However hes described as; in his 50s and dressed in a plain, darkish suit of the period. He doesnt seem really intimidating. Nevertheless he has a habit of looking hard at the person he is interrogating before he starts to speak, also he doesnt make any jokes, thus leading to everyone to take him seriously. He controls the rate at which the shameful secrets are confessed. These were just the techniques that were required to let everyone acknowledge the responsibility for their own actions. Inspector Goole has come into this house to stir thing up. One way of doing this is to stir up his listeners with emotive language. For example he starts off with a girl has just died in the infirmary. She drank some strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out. This gives the audience and the family an enormous shock Also nobody expects Inspector Goole either. Hes a policeman hes meant to ask questions. But everyone confesses. And this is all due the way he shapes the plot; which he does by answering his own questions Also the Inspectors power lies in his knowledge. He moves discussions on by revealing new information e.g. he also reveals how Eva Smith was supposed to be pregnant, which heightens the drama. The inspector not only reveals what everybody did, he also passes judgement. E. g. He tells us that there isnt much of a difference between respectable citizen and criminals. However the highest dramatic peak of the whole play is the final exit of the Inspector; as he highlights all their action in a harsh lecture, making them all feel guilty (even Mr. Birling collapses into a chair as staging directions show). After he tells them how their actions affect the whole world. If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire blood and anguish. Good night. As he dramatically exits the house, leaving the Birling family shocked, petrified and wondering. By the end of the evening, the children have rebelled and the family is collapsing. That final speech affects the house so dramatically that the family literally is torn apart between the younger generation and the older generation. The older generation are old-fashioned. We learned this from the beginning, the authority Arthur and Sybil Birling have is unquestioned, and they are in control.